Sir, I remember as a young boy in Rosyth embarking, with my pal, on an expedition to fish at far-flung Loch Fitty.
We got off the Kelty bus at Lassodie Post Office and after a full and happy day returned to our street as conquering heroes with no fish, but having added an egg of the Reed Bunting and Little Dipper to our collection.
So I am pleased to read (Courier, February 13) of the vow by locals to fight the green light given by Sepa to allow Scottish Coal to drain, mine and finally reinstate Loch Fitty.
After years of disruption for the residents of the area, does anyone really believe that the company will keep their promise of reinstatement? One only has to look at the neighbouring St Ninian’s opencast to answer that question.
Despite the obligation of the contractor to reinstate the area to its former glory, we are left with the spoil-bings grassed to depict continents while, in fact, looking just like grassy bings and huge excavation holes, which are to be flooded to represent the oceans. All in the name of art we are told.
No doubt the multi-million pound savings made by the contractor being able to convince Fife Council this was a benefit to the St Ninian’s site where the old Lassodie village is now in mid-Atlantic will encourage them to float a similar artistic scam at Loch Fitty.
In years to come as we drive over our pot-holed roads destroyed by huge coal lorries a child will ask the aged ones what Fife’s countryside looked like before it was carted away.
The aged ones will show the child faded photos of the villages, woods and streams that were there before the bulldozers stripped it bare and loaded it into lorries.
They will tell of blissful days of yore spent in the green remembered braes, the rural gems that Fifers once boasted, before the council gave them away to their business chums.
Tom Minogue. 94 Victoria Terrace, Dunfermline.
These faceless quangos should be accountable
Sir, Major Gibb of Glen Isla estate is understandably frustrated by the lack of common-sense displayed by SNH who insist on a massive red deer cull without considering either the weather conditions or the animal’s welfare.
The rivers of Perthshire have suffered greatly from SNH’s intransigence on the matter of a timely licence to cull cormorants. During the winter months most river beats have had their stocks of sea trout, trout and grayling decimated by these voracious predators; sometimes more than 50 have been observed “working” a pool.
The common “marine” predators enjoy SNH’s protection and only when they are sated and have mostly left for their coastal breeding grounds do SNH reluctantly issue a licence to cull a derisory six birds over the entire 3,000 square miles of the Tay District.
I, along with many others who work in our countryside are seeing our jobs gradually eroded by the bureaucratic officialdom emanating from faceless unelected quangos. Good government should make these people accountable for their unreasonable diktats.
Michael C Smith. Threapmuir Farm, Cleish, Kinross.
Need to learn from mistakes
Sir, Regarding Mr Tam Young’s unfortunate experience with the NHS doctor’s blunder reported on Monday, February 4 every effort should be made to reassure Mr Young and his family of his present medical condition and explain how the mistake was made.
There is no place for a callous attitude to be tolerated by anyone but there is a place for genuine mistakes.
Just as the medical people have the responsibility to inform the patients, the patients, too, have to remain vigilant about their own health and ask relevant questions at every stage.
With many, many imperfections, still, the UK NHS remains one of the best and most compassionate health services in the world.
In the present economic climate, draining of resources through litigation or compensation will not help to improve the NHS.
Far better to have an open dialogue and learn from the mistakes. But, of course, there must be room for legal action where appropriate.
Krishna Ghosh. 5 Farington Terrace, Dundee.
Missing point
Sir, I have read in The Courier some letters asking what all the “fuss” is about regarding eating horsemeat. They are totally missing the point. If I wanted to eat horsemeat (which I don’t), I would buy it. If I want to eat beef, pork or chicken, that is what I expect to get, not some mish-mash of something much less agreeable to me.
Joan M. Fordyce 8 Teuchatcroft, Forfar.
Delight to watch
Sir, Feeding the birds pays dividends! We now have as regular visitors a pair of red squirrels and a grey. They co-exist on the same tree, perhaps because while the red go for the nuts the grey seems to prefer fat balls. It is a delight to watch them.
Kate Douglas. The Old Schoolhouse, Flisk, by Newburgh.